Clerk, judge resolve North Carolina political defamation case

CARTHAGE, N.C. (CN) — A feuding clerk and judge reached an agreement to dismiss a convoluted political defamation case in North Carolina Monday.

Todd Maness, the clerk of court in Moore County, North Carolina, sued the county’s District Court Judge Donna “Beth” Tanner in January, along with his opponent in the Republican primary, Deborah Duerring.

Tanner attempted to sway public opinion against Maness, he said in his suit, and told others he wasn’t performing his elected duties in a move to have him removed from office. Tanner contacted Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Michael Stone, saying she heard rumors Maness had not begun forming a jury commission and was asking that it be dissolved, which would halt jury trials in Moore County. Duerring, who ran against Maness in the primaries, later repeated those comments in a speech. Maness dismissed Duerring as a defendant in March.

In court Monday, Tanner and Maness asked presiding Superior Court Judge James Ammons Jr. to enter an order upholding a settlement agreement reached between the parties.

Maness agreed to dismiss his complaint with prejudice, so he will be unable to refile it, and Tanner agreed to dismiss her request for sanctions against him. They both agreed to waive “any and all” civil claims against each other.

Ammons thanked the parties for resolving their differences and warned them that talking about what happened in the case — to anyone — would result in them being found in contempt of court.

“That’s the spirit of this agreement,” he said, adding that he will retain jurisdiction over the case to ensure the parties are behaving.

“Let me remind you that bickering is never attractive, whether it’s adults or children,” Ammons said, instructing them to think before they speak and show each other grace, and thanking them for setting aside their differences and pledging to work together for the sake of the county.

The parties, who were scheduled to argue over Tanner’s request to dismiss the case in the morning, spent hours negotiating Monday and reached an agreement shortly before 5 p.m.

In filings, Tanner argued Maness’ case should be dismissed, as he has failed to prove that she acted with actual malice — a requirement in defamation cases involving public figures — and that her text messages with Stone are protected under judicial immunity and qualified privilege.

Maness has a pattern of filing lawsuits, and the court should sanction him, she said. Maness had also asked the court to sanction Tanner for misrepresenting legal authorities.

Maness rebutted that Tanner’s text messages are libelous because they “impugn plaintiff in his profession and accuse him, as a public official, of neglecting his duties.” She acted with malice and recklessly disregarded the truth, he claimed in his brief, and isn’t protected by qualified immunity in the case because she has no responsibilities relating to jury trials.

The defendants previously tried to get the case moved to a county 80 miles away, which Maness called Tanner trying to “judge shop.” A different Superior Court judge declined to transfer the case, despite arguments that an assigned judge would have to work with people who are intimately involved in the case.

The case had escalated after Tanner and Duerring filed a motion claiming Maness’ attorney, Michael Porter, engaged in ex parte communications with Stone. They said Porter drafted an administrative order for Stone, who, in turn, agreed to dismiss a contempt proceeding against Maness. Porter was also representing Stone in an unrelated case.

Stone then turned and opened an investigation into Alicia Jurney and Michael Newman —  the defendants’ attorneys who participated in the motion — and asked them to prove they didn’t make false statements. The attorneys asked that he recuse himself and then requested the state Court of Appeals step in. Stone filed another order, invalidating their appeals request, before the appellate court intervened and paused the investigation.

A special prosecutor dismissed the investigation in March, finding neither Stone nor the attorneys violated the rules of professional conduct.

Before the dismissal, Stone had yet to recuse himself from any administrative involvement in the case. The defendants claim he has been good friends with Maness for years and has an “adversarial relationship” with Tanner, uploading in the docket a recording of a conversation between Stone and Tanner where Stone threatens to “beat (her) like a fucking drum” if she runs against him.

Both Maness and Tanner held onto their seats in the Republican primaries in March and are expected to continue to serve in their official capacities. Both parties declined to comment after the dismissal.

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